Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1887-02-12


The following is an abstract OF the sub
ject discussed At the prayer. meeting il
the Presbyterian Church last night, In
which the pastor said
When sick man sends for q physician
he feels his need of his services A man
in COED health does not send for the
physician, and If he should come to him
and offer to prescribe for him, he would
laugh at him and treat his comings as a
burlesque. The sick man not only feels
his need of the physician, but despairs of
curing himself He knows that the d.
sease is beyond his control. The remedies
he would use are not such as should be
used, and altogether inadequate to effect
q cure. lie knows, too, the willingness
of the skillful physician to help him. He
does not doubt his readiness 70 render aid.
He has great confidence in his ability.
He feels, too, that he ought TO make APP
plication for his services. Unless the
physician has request, or knows the de-
sire of his heart in some way, his servi-
ces are not rendered. This is the way In
which men are acting every day. This is
the way in which men acted when Christ,
the great Physician, was upon the earth.
Take up the cases of healing as they are
recorded in the gospels and you will see
this sense of need this inability to effect q
cure, this confidence in Christ, and the
application to him to effect cure. The
deaf, the blina, the leprous, the sick felt
their need and did not postpone appiica-
ton to Christ when the opportunity Of
fered.
Now, the same methods of acting ought
to be adopted when man feels his need
of spiritual healing. Every man must
know that the soul Is deceased by sin. A
man can hardly escape the conviction that
the soul Is dreadfullY disordered by a con-
slant, malignant disease, which shows
itself in the acts, and the words, and the
thoughts. The best literature In the
world, as well as the bible, recognizes the
fact that sin like an evil disease is found
in the heart of every man.
Now the question arises how are we TO
obtain soul-healing7 We know what to
do when the body is afflicted by disease.
his attention and skill The great physi
clan for the soul is the Lord Jesus Christ
We must apply to him with the same
trust in Him that was shown by the sick,
who went to him when he was here upon
the earth. It is not necessary, except in
rare instances, to try to convince men
that they are sinners. They are already
convinced Men everywhere admit this
great truth. The most depraved and ig-
norant have a traditional notion of it.
When men look within and reflect upon
theirfeelings and acts, they feel that there
Is something wrong with the soul. When
Aey measure themselves by the word of
God, they see that the soul is very corrupt.
Hence, most men will admit that they are
sinners and need soul-healing.
But the difficulty part of our work is to
lead them TO see that they need this heal
ing at once. They expect TO get it after
awhile. They say tomorrow, or next
week to our mosturgent entreaties. They
do not realize that tomorrow may be too
late. They do not realize that the dis
ease is only increasing with every days
delay. While an increase of the disease
may not put them beyond the power of
the Great Physician, for he can cure the
worst cases, it makes the man himself
sometimes despair of the grace of God,
and then application to Jesus for healing
is never made.
In multitudes of cases, it is not neces-
sary to prove the ability of Christ as a
physician. This is also admitted But to
get men to make this personal application
of which we speak, to get them to 60 TO
him at once for healing as they go to the
physician for the body Is very difficult
matter. Much has been gained, we ad.
NIT, when men recognize their need and
the source of their help. They are
almost persuaded, but If they do not
get beyond that it cannot avail, 1t is as
the hymn declares, Almost-but lost I"